Data integration is often still done by hand, through SQL coding and stored procedures, according to Rick Sherman, founder of consultancy Athena IT Solutions in Stow, Mass. Writing SQL integration scripts can be straightforward and seemingly inexpensive — but data integration might be one case where handmade is no longer best, Sherman says in this interview with SearchDataManagement.com. He also discusses the different kinds of data integration tools now available and offers advice on how to evaluate them and choose the technology that best fits an organization’s needs.

How prevalent is manual coding for data integration these days? Is it still a common practice in a lot of organizations?